Dom really wasn't a good soldier. Three weeks of rigid training before Staffarda had only made it clear that he hated confrontations and had feet instead of hands when it came to holding a weapon.

What happened next was a perfect example of that. With his reflexes dulled in mere seconds, Dom couldn't even assess the situation before a familiar voice finally reached his ears.

"What are you doing here?"

Raffaele was standing right in front of him, completely unscathed, looking at him with the curiosity of someone who wouldn't expect to find their most illustrious guest in such an inappropriate place.

Maybe Dom should return the question. If only because, with a quick glance at what lay before him, the answer was obvious: Dozens of cats were feasting on the leftovers from the previous night's dinner. Leftovers, which, by the way, were placed in several bowls that Raffaele must have brought without Dom noticing.

"Were you the one kidnapping cats?" he asked, somewhat embarrassed, as that was the first thing that came to mind.

Despite the shock, Dom quickly realized that the thing that attacked him wasn't a predator, but one of the smaller cats. The cat, without a doubt, must have thought he had come to bring food. So, as soon as it saw him, it climbed up his leg, causing him to drop his knife.

Knowing that he wouldn't lose any limbs, Dom gently set the little creature on the ground, careful not to scratch his pants further. Meanwhile, Raffaele seized the moment to make a firm statement.

"I haven't kidnapped any cats." Though, after a brief moment of doubt, he added, "They kidnapped me."

"Really?" Dom would have liked to sound skeptical, but it was hard to feel confident after the most ridiculous thing he'd just done—going to save someone who clearly didn't need it. "How did that happen?"

"I suspect it was a conspiracy, from the first days I settled in San Cipriano," Raffaele said, convinced. "I soon started noticing these stray cats around the castle, near the woods. I didn't want anything to happen to them while they were hunting, so one thing led to another, and... Well, the thing is, I started leaving food for them, here and there, until they decided to settle in these tunnels on their own."

"You're telling me you've been coming down here for months for this? I thought you were afraid of it."

"And I am afraid!" Raffaele exclaimed. "That's why I don't come down the way you did. I take a detour around the castle to find the opening that connects this area to the outside."

In fact, all the water forming the sewers had to go somewhere. Dom had already suspected this, and seeing that there was enough light in this part of the tunnels for him to no longer need his lantern, it seemed reasonable to think that a second exit wasn't far off.

"There's a hole in the wall, over there," Raffaele said, pointing to where the light came from. "That's what both I and the cats use to come and go."

"And there's no monster?"

"If there were, I wouldn't have let the kittens stay in this part of the fortress. In fact, when they started coming regularly, I wanted to bring them inside the castle. Not the basement; they'd be better running freely through my gardens and rooms. It was just that I found out they were street cats who also liked to walk around the village and be with their people, so I couldn't adopt them as such..."

"Ah, that's why you got nervous with that woman! You had the damn cats kidnapped... Sorry, I mean, they had you trapped as their personal servant."

Raffaele turned slightly red at hearing Dom put it that way. And when he responded, he couldn't help but smile.

"I've never kept them locked up, but I suppose they've gotten used to having a safe place here where there's always food, so they always come back. As for me... Uh... I'd prefer if the villagers didn't find out about this."

"They'll never hear it from me," Dom promised, already bending down to pet one of the cats nearby. "Though, to be honest, I don't think anyone would blame you for having them: You're taking good care of them after all."

"They might not, but I still wouldn't want people showing up here in droves. The basement isn't a good place to be, unless, like them," he said, referring to the cats, "you have the exit so close."

"Hey, are you completely sure there's nothing else alive down there?"

It might have been absurd to insist. If there was a monster, or any other creature between the basement entrance and where he found Raffaele, it would make sense to have crossed paths with it by now. But Dom simply couldn't ignore the growls.

"And are you sure what you heard was growling?"

"My ears are fine, thanks," Dom retorted, then, in a low voice, added, "Weren't they growls?"

"There's a lot of echo in these tunnels, see, let me show you." To illustrate this, Raffaele picked up one of the cats that had finished eating and, as he started walking away down the same passage Dom had come through, he continued.

Not long after, when Raffaele's steps were no longer distinguishable, a sound very similar to what Dom had heard reached his ears. Of course, now that he knew it was just meowing amplified by the echo, it was impossible to compare it to the growls of a real beast.

Dom cursed under his breath. Now he could see where the confusion had come from.

"Maybe you arrived when they were hungry, and that's why you thought you heard the meows in such an... aggressive way," Raffaele mused, returning and placing the cat back with its companions. "They can be very loud when they're seeking attention."

"No, that's something I just verified."

"This reminds me, you still haven't answered my initial question."

"What?"

"Why did you go down to the underground? I thought, after what happened last time, you would have learned your lesson."

"And I did learn it, make no mistake. It's just..."

What were his options? He could look like an idiot and say that, without any incentive, it occurred to him to take another trip down into the depths to see if this time he might be lucky and get eaten by some creature. Or he could admit the truth—that he went down because he was worried about Raffaele and intended to rescue him.

Dom wasn't one to confess such feats based on his feelings, but in this case, he felt it was better than looking like a fool. He had already been humiliated enough admitting his clumsiness to Carlo.

"I thought there was a monster," he began, silently hoping the other would connect the dots and not make him spell it out. "And this morning, when I woke up, I couldn't find you anywhere in the castle."

"True, the usual thing is that every day, before I go to look for you, I stop by here to leave plenty of food for the cats so it lasts them until night. But today I woke up late, and as much as I would have liked to wake you up at the usual time, priorities..." Raffaele pondered, then, after a few seconds, realized the obvious. "Wait a minute, you thought I was in danger, and that's why you came to save me."

"It's not that I thought you were in danger... I had a theory, obviously mistaken, and I missed you in my room. It's normal that I decided to take a walk around and ended up here."

No, it wasn't normal at all. Who would check the cellars before the higher towers? Because it was clear Dom hadn't managed to patrol the entire fortress before settling on this path.

Raffaele must have seen it for what it was—a flimsy excuse. Without letting Dom argue further, he rushed to give him a hug so strong that it even lifted him off the ground, with such force that it nearly knocked him over.

"You went down just to try to save me," he stated. And even though Dom was tempted to deny it, he knew there was no point in doing so anymore.

"Someone had to take care of it, right?" Dom remarked. While he had frozen for a few seconds, not expecting this move from Raffaele, he soon relaxed enough to return the hug. "With how easily you trust people, anyone could take advantage of your kindness if no one was looking out for you."

Raffaele laughed at that idea, dismissing it as absurd.

"You don't have to worry about me. I'm more than capable of defending myself. I wouldn't open the doors of my castle to just anyone if I weren't."

"Because you're a vampire."

"Yes, exactly!"

Dom had made that remark as a joke, recalling their conversation from the previous day. But Raffaele had responded with a smile and that affirmation, showing no signs of taking the vampire threat seriously.

And, well, to be fair, why should he? Now that they both knew it was all a ruse, Raffaele could pretend to be a supernatural creature all he wanted. Dom wasn't going to take that pleasure away from him.